Heavy rainfall may damage major crops
The ongoing heavy rainfall has increased the risk of damage to major crops, including cotton, onion and other vegetables in the fields, mostly in Sindh, agriculturists said on Wednesday.
Water-resistant crops like paddy (raw rice) and sugarcane are still safe but they may face moderate losses if heavy rainfall continues over the next couple of days, they added.
“The current spell of downpour is estimated to damage around 10% or 250,000-300,000 cotton bales of 155 kg each in Sindh,” Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) Vice President Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah said while talking to The Express Tribune.
“This is peak time for cotton picking. Farmers engage in initial picking during August and September. Cotton is ready to be picked these days, however, the rainfall is likely to damage the crop,” he said.
Similarly, the probability of damage to onion and other vegetable crops stood high as they were water-sensitive agricultural produce, he added.
“The rainfall in Punjab stands moderate. It is apparently largely beneficial to almost all the crops in the province,” Nawaz stated. The province produces around 70% of all major crops.
The Meteorological Department has forecast more widespread rainfall over the next couple of days.
“The downpour from now onwards is most likely to damage almost all the crops, mostly in Sindh. The probability of damage to water-sensitive crops is high, but it is low for the water-resistant crops,” Shah said.
Crops in the fields have received more water through the rainfall as compared to the required quantity. Reports suggest the country has received around 100-200 millimetres (3.9-7.8 inches) of rainfall under the ongoing record-breaking spell of downpour.
On an average, 3-3.5 inches of rain is beneficial to the cotton crop. However, for the paddy (rice) and sugarcane crops, 4-5 inches of showers are good, according to Shah.
Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) former chairman Dr Jassu Mal Leemani cautiously estimated the loss to cotton crop in the range of 200,000-300,000 bales. “It is a very rough estimate. Actual loss may be calculated after a week or 10 days,” he stated.
He, however, said if it did not rain more on Thursday and Friday under the current spell and instead smart winds blew through the cotton belt in Sindh, then the current rain may prove beneficial for the crop and cotton harvest may go up.
“The blowing of wind is a must for the next couple of days to dry the cotton flower. Suffocation may prove to be damaging for the crop, even if it does not rain more,” he said.
Leemani revealed that he was on a visit to the cotton belt in Punjab these days. The cotton crop in the province was out of danger. “More rainfall in the cotton belt in Punjab will still be beneficial,” he stressed.
He said he had visited Multan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan over the past couple of days and all was well there.
Leemani, who is also a candidate for the next PCGA chairman and a leading cotton expert, said his association had estimated cotton production in the range of eight to nine million bales during the current season compared to 8.5 million bales last year.
Pakistan was producing 12-14 million bales per year about three to four years ago against demand for 15-16 million bales. Poor quality of cotton seeds and farmers’ shift to other crops had resulted in low cotton production, especially in Punjab, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2020.
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